Ariel screwed me over
by starfire226
Summary: Kory Anders has a bone to pick with Ariel. Burned too many times by ex-boyfriends, Kory has lost all belief in the happily-ever-after that the fairy tale princesses promised her. She's sworn off love, prince charmings, and happy endings and she's happy about it. really. Or at least she was... Until she met Richard. first two chapters on robstar591. lost information for that account


I'd lied to Nick last night, I didn't have an operation in the morning. Actually, I was working from home because I had to meet Rachel later to get my bridesmaid dress altered. Since it'd always been on the looser size, I'd decided to treat myself to a cookie from a local bakery.

I gathered my hair into a messy bun, grabbed a cup of coffee, grabbed my keys and headed out to my vehicle to go down the road to the local bakery.

The bakery was pretty empty, so I didn't have to wait in a large line. As I pondered over what kind of baked good I would indulge myself in, I mentally prepared myself for having to tell Ms. Carmichael that her pooch just has pancreatitis once again and having to deal with her arguing with me that it had to be something more, and thinking about it, the dog did get sick a lot, maybe I'd talk to her about running some tests.

After I decided on a chocolate chip scone, ordered a mocha latte, and ordered a batch of cookies for Rachel, I turned around and came face to face with Richard.

"I thought that was you," he said.

I tugged my earphones out of my ears and blinked, he must've come here from the local gym. He was wearing long mesh shorts and a T-shirt that stretched tightly across his well defined chest.

Last night after my date, when I'd had trouble falling asleep, I'd thought of all the things I should say to him the next time we ran into each other. But they'd abandoned me somewhere around the time I'd check out his pecs.

"W-what are you doing here?" _Smooth Kori, real smooth._

"Same thing as you," he said "getting a nice, sweet breakfast and some coffee."

I really wish I wasn't so jittery from the caffeine already. My face was probably twitching from all the sugar in both the scone and mocha. "But… you don't live here? In this building… do you?" _Did he?_

One corner of Richard's mouth twisted up. "It would be kind of strange for me to go to a Starbucks attached to a apartment building, if I didn't live here"

Heat filled my cheeks and I took another swig of my mocha. Time for the apology. Then maybe I could stop feeling guilty and get this guy off my mind. "Look I'm sorry about the misunderstanding at the restaurant. I just thought you were one of guys who tells everyone he owns the restaurant or runs the company or whatever to seem impressive. I thought that since I knew everyone, you were lying to try to impress me."

There. I'd apologized. Now I could move past this guy and get back to my normal life.

"I _was_ trying to impress you, but not with my job." He tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his shorts and shrugged. "I guess I need to work on my skills, because obviously my natural rugged charm wasn't enough." He flashed me a smile to punctuate his statement and I tried - and failed- not to let it melt me the tiniest bit.

"Oh, you were plenty charming. Just not enough to make up for being a liar. Which for all I know, you're not, so again, sorry."

"Do you always assume the worst in people?"

I crossed my arms. "Yes. That way I'm never disappointed. It saves a lot of time and trouble."

His eyebrows shot up and his smile faded. It only lasted a moment; then the smile returned. "I guess there's only one thing to do about that. Let's go to dinner, and I'll prove to you I'm not a liar."

 _Is he seriously asking me out right now, while I'm all jittery and make-up free?_ My gaze accidentally drifted to his toned chest and arms. My pulse quickened and the temperature in the room climbed even higher. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted.

I swallowed, forcing from my mind thoughts of how good he'd look shirtless, and reminding myself of the rules that had kept me heart-break free for a year. Guys like Nick, they were safe. The guy standing in front of me, was the total opposite. "Sorry, but you've got two strikes against you already. You work at my favorite restaurant, and you live in my building. That's just asking for trouble."

Richard took a step closer, "Or maybe it'll be convenient."

"A girl does like to be called convenient." My voice shook a little, thanks to the proximity. He was tall, too- in my sneakers, I barely came to his shoulder, and I am pretty tall for a girl, which meant he'd still have a few inches on me in my highest heels. Forcing as much indifference into my expression as I could manage, I glanced at my watch "I've got to go get some work done."

Richard reached out and put his hand on my hip, just like he'd done the other night. My skin heated under his touch and my breath caught in my throat. Part of me was screaming, _Just go for it,_ and the other part was yelling, _Mayday, mayday we're going down!_

"Just so you know," he said, leaning close enough his chest bumped my arm, "I'm an expert on baseball, and two strikes isn't enough to get out. You need three."

I stared up into those startling blue eyes of his, and worked at keeping my voice steady. "I'm sure the third will come up soon."

The wattage on his smile kicked up a couple extra notches. "I'll see you around Kory"

333

"I think you should go out with him," Rachel said after I'd relayed the story. The woman tailoring my dress tugged on the pale fabric and I almost fell over.

"He lives in my building, Rach. I can't go out with him."

"So? I say you go for it anyway."

I shook my head. "Not gonna happen. You remember what happened to Larry and me. That was awkward forever. I swore that I'd never date someone who lived in my same building ever again"

Rachel pointed at my hem. "I think an inch higher," she said and looked back up at me. "All I'm saying is you seem to be getting all worked up over this guy. You admitted you think he's smoking hot, and he asked you out again, even though you shot him down once _and_ called him a liar. You've got to admire his determination."

"It'd be admirable if he didn't live in my building and work at my favorite restaurant. I'd groaned and realized I'd have to avoid Gold. "Where am I going to eat now?"

Rachel's cell phone rang, and she held up a finger.

As she talked on the phone, I thought about Richard again. The way he'd smile at me, how he'd implied he still had another strike left, the way he said he'd see me around. Okay, he'd gotten to me. But all I had to do to snap back to reality was remember what happened with Larry. Back then I'd lived in a different apartment complex. After things went sour with him, I had to find a new place to live.

 _Nope. Stick to the rules. That's history I don't want to repeat._

 **Little Mermaid case study: Larry/ Prince Eric.**

My age : 20

Rachel and I had lived in a tiny, run-down apartment the entire time we were going through college, so after a few years in the work force, we decided it was time to get a place that didn't smell like cat pee and curry. Ryan and Kom, my siblings, were helping Rach and me haul all of our furniture and boxes into our new place.

After unloading the truck, Ryan, Kom, and Rachel went on a food run. I had the doors and window to our apartment open, airing it out. I turned on my ipod and started moving boxes around. I guess I got a little carried away with the singing, I was belting out the lyrics along with my music when I looked up and saw a guy standing outside my door. He had an athletic build, blond hair, and a big grin.

Before I could figure out whether to wave or run and hide, Ryan, Kom, and Rachel showed up with the food, and he walked past our open door.

A week later, I ran into him at the mailboxes.

"Hey, you're the singing chick," he said. "Nice voice, by the way"

I stood there staring, unable to say a word.

"I'm Larry. I'm just a few doors down, so if you ever need anything…" His eyebrows drew together and he gave this adorable half-shrug thing. "Well, I probably won't have it- our apartment's pretty bare, actually. But try the next door over because that lady's really nice"

I smiled, still working on forming words. Finally, I got a few out. "Thanks for the tip. I'm Kory, by the way."

He gave me The Nod. "I'm sure I'll see you around."

After that, we bumped into each other on a regular basis: at the pool, the laundry room, while taking the stairs instead of the elevator. We'd have short conversations about our days; laugh about Gertrude, the old lady who walked her cat on a leash; or complain about the neighbor who cooked something that smelled awful and permeated our half of the building. Of all the people who lived in my complex - except Rach, of course, who was logging so many hours at her job I hardly saw her - I knew Larry the best. Things were easy between us. We clicked.

One night, after an especially stressful day at work, I went down to soak in the hot tub. The jets set off, and I sat there with my eyes closed, trying to gather the energy to get out and restart them. Before I'd psyched myself to brave the cold air, the bubbles started again. I opened my eyes to see who I'd be sharing the hot tub with.

Larry stepped into the bubbling water. "Hey Kory. How's it going?"

"Oh, you know, stressful day, so I'm unwinding."

"I had the same idea after unloading trucks all day." Larry smiled at me. "Not many people come out here in this weather."

I glanced up at the sky and took a deep breath of the fresh air that contained the promise of rain. "I like being in the hot tub when it's like this."

When I looked back down, Larry was right next to me. "I keep almost asking you out, then chickening out," he said.

I swallowed, staring at the way the steam rose off his body and swirled through the air around us. "You shouldn't. Chicken out. I mean."

He put his arms around me and we spent the rest of the night kissing in the hot tub. I know, every sleazy reality show contains a hot-tub make-out - or ten. Believe me, the next morning I was wondering if that was all that it would ever be. Then I started stressing about how I was going to act when I saw him again.

Pulling into our apartment complex after work the next day, I noticed his truck in the parking lot. I debated between the elevator and stairs for a few minutes, wondering which one might bring me face-to-face with him. In the end, I took the stairs, I scurried past his door and locked myself in my apartment.

I clicked on the television and flipped through the menu. Twenty minutes of channel surfing later, a knock sounded on my door. I peered through my peephole and saw Larry on the other side, holding a pizza box.

I ran a hand through my hair before pulling open the door.

"Hey, I was thinking we could eat some pizza and hang out," Larry said.

My heart skipped a couple of beats. It wasn't a one-night thing! I didn't belong on an episode of _The Bachelor,_ the discarded girl who didn't get a rose - or a greasy slice of pepperoni, as it were. I stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. We ate pizza, then kissed some more.

From then on, we hung out more often then not. We cooked dinner together, went to movies, and made frequent visits to the hot tub. Before long, the entire apartment complex knew we were together. It was pretty convenient, being able to get home from his place in under a minute.

And then - you know how in _The Little Mermaid_ the shell on Ursula's (disguised as Vanessa's) chest hypnotized Prince Eric? Other girls' chests hypnotized Larry. I saw him ogling them all the time. I didn't love it, but you know, I still took a moment to admire a cute guy when I encountered one. Much more subtly, but still. And it wasn't like he forgot to check me out, either - he always told me I looked hot.

A couple months in, Larry started pulling away, spending less time with me and saying he needed to get up early. Fine. I was busy, too.

When I ran into him in the hallway one day, he told me he needed a break from us. He'd said we'd gone so fast, living next door and all, and he wasn't ready for that big of a commitment.

The confusing part about the whole I-need-a-break speech was that it made it sound like we might resume the relationship, even though deep down, I knew things were over. Still, when a week later I ran into him and he had his arm around another girl, I felt a little blindsided. According to his roommate, Larry's new girlfriend was a singer in a local band, and he was completely mesmerized by her.

Three months later - while I was collecting the giant stack of bills from my mailbox - he told me he was getting married.

I lost my voice again. I tried to nod like I was fine. I'd been running into _her_ more and more, though. When I left for work, she was there in the hall, kissing him good-bye. She was in the laundry room when I would try to do my laundry. She always gave me dirty looks, too, simply because I was his ex. She was the one who'd lured him away; I don't know why _I_ got the dirty looks.

The night after he confessed he was engaged, I went downstairs to soak in the hot tub. And there were Larry and his new fiancée were, making out like we used to.

As far as I know, no sea creatures interrupted their wedding.

Of all the princes, Prince Eric used to be one of my favorites. When you think about it, though, he fell in love with a voice - with an idea. And I can't hold much against Ariel, because she was young and naive and easily amused by things like forks. At least Disney tried to make the ending happy. In the original story, she turned into sea form. But see, if I'd watch the original growing up, I wouldn't have had such high hopes. Maybe I wouldn't have expected a guy to accept all my quirks, love me for me, and ride out the storm together, no matter what life tried to throw at us.

 **Time wasted :** Three months with him; four months trying to avoid him and his new girlfriend/eventual fiancé

 **Lessons learned :**

Guys who ogle shamelessly must not be all that satisfied with what's in front of them.

Hot tub hook ups are always, always a bad idea.

Never date anyone who you'll be forced to run into on a regular basis if it goes wrong.


End file.
